Covid-19 Centre At Levy Mwanawasa Overwhelmed

The Covid-19 isolation centre at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital is overstretched and overwhelmed, according to the hospital’s senior medical superintendent Penias Tembo.

Dr Tembo has said that both government and hospital management are struggling to cope as the the number of patients coming in for Covid-19 treatment continues to rocket. 

He has made an appeal for businesses and religious groups to step in and help out where possible. 

Yesterday, Zambia recorded 555 covid cases and 9 deaths related to the virus. Experts believe that the country experienced a spike in new cases over December and January due to the emergence of a new variant of the virus first identified in South Africa.

There are currently 317 Zambians receiving treatment in hospital for Covid-19. Levy Mwanawasa’s isolation centre is by far the largest in Zambia and has 171 workers.

Workers at the hospital are currently benefiting from a free meals programme, organised by the Lions Club of Woodlands in partnership with Zamtel, ZSIC Life and the Guardian Insurance Group. 

Zamtel themselves have donated K20,000 to the initiative and have set up a merchant code (69650) by which mobile customers can send donations to fund the free meals programme. 

Zamtel’s senior manager for mobile money, Mulenga Masinja, said “we are making this donation because we believe it will go a long way in meeting the nutritional requirements of our hard working frontline health workers as they provide the much needed care and support for patients afflicted by Covid-19. The funds provided by Zamtel and other partners will also help motivate our workers who are at the front line of this battle against Covid”.